Consumers consider a number of factors when buying a new vehicle. Price, color, body style, and powertrain are just some of the considerations. However, if fuel economy is at the top of your list and you don’t want an EV, start with a Honda.
Honda topped the EPA’s list of most fuel-efficient gas-powered fleet of vehicles between 2019 and 2024.
According to the most recent Automotive Trends report from the Environmental Protection Agency, Honda offered the most fuel-efficient lineup of gas-powered vehicles, averaging 31 mpg. Hyundai (29.8) and Kia (29.2) came in second and third. Although it’s the 2026 report, the results are for the most recent data available, which is 2024.
Being average
On the whole, automakers have been producing more efficient vehicles, with 13 of the 14 largest automakers showing improvements in “estimated real-world fuel economy.” Between 2019 and 2024, Toyota showed the biggest gain, raising its average by 3.3 mpg. BMW was next at 2.8 mpg with Mercedes-Benz just behind at 2.4 mpg.
Hyundai had the second-best average fuel economy number, according to the EPA.
To be clear, according to the report, there is one brand that is more efficient than Honda — Tesla. The EV maker came in at 117.1 mpg. In a bit of irony, Tesla was the one automaker that saw its average dip during the five-year period.
The company’s likely fine with the reason: they offer more vehicles, which happen to be less efficient. No other EV makers made it because none of them produce enough vehicles to make it into the top 14 largest automakers.
And the worst? Well, if you’re looking to live up to a stereotype, the bottom three on the list do just that. Stellantis had the lowest new-vehicle fuel economy among the large manufacturers in model year 2024 at 22.8 mpg, followed by GM at 22.9 mpg and Ford at 23.4 mpg.
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Moving up
Kia’s product evolution continues with the new Seltos, which is a small SUV.
Upon closer examination, Toyota’s improvement might not seem like much of a surprise. The company’s extensive lineup of hybrids and plug-in hybrids (PHEV) made a big impact on its improvement during the timeframe.
However, some other automakers get very different results if you remove the battery-electric and plug-in electric models from their lineups. The averages for Hyundai and Kia would fall below Toyota, Nissan and Subaru. Interestingly, Subaru and Mazda hardly change at all if you remove the BEVs and PHEVs. Subaru stays exactly the same at 28.4 mpg and Mazda drops slightly from 27.8 to 27.7.
Overall, automakers have moved from a 24.9-mpg average to 27.2-mpg average between 2019 and 2024. Again take out the BEVs and PHEVs and the numbers and the improvement shrinks, going from 24.6 mpg to 25.6 mpg. A paltry one mpg.
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